


if you got love to get done

by blommowitch



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-17
Updated: 2019-04-17
Packaged: 2020-01-15 15:55:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18502213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blommowitch/pseuds/blommowitch
Summary: " The sound of the waves calmed his beating heart almost as much as the sound of Sora’s regular, steady breaths did. 'Hey, Riku?' Sora’s voice broke the stillness that surrounded them, and Riku turned in the dark sand to face him."





	if you got love to get done

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Chikaikeeper](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chikaikeeper/gifts).



> this is part of a larger au that I'll never write so just have this for now. in this au sora and riku are left in the realm of darkness at the end of kh2, and much needed conversations are had. (tetsuya nomura: I will slit you from mouth to anus and wear you like a cape.)

“Yeah, well… I’ve got something you could never imitate, too.” Riku felt a rush of relief - Sora still saw him as his best friend. _Which is more than I could ever hope for,_ he reminded himself. The sound of the waves calmed his beating heart almost as much as the sound of Sora’s regular, steady breaths did.

“Hey, Riku?” Sora’s voice broke the stillness that surrounded them, and Riku turned in the dark sand to face him. Sora was biting his lip, hands curled into the sand, and his brown eyes looked worried as he said: “Do we need to eat here? Or drink?” He scooted closer to the other boy as he spoke, and continued: “Because so far, the only thing I’ve felt here is cold. Can people die in this realm?”

“I don’t know, Sora,” Riku answered, ruthlessly repressing the urge to take Sora’s hand to comfort him. Or comfort himself. “It’s a good question, though. I’d guess we don’t, seeing as time is in stasis here.” He looked again at the endless sun, never wavering from its position above the water. This seemed to help Sora, as he visibly perked up at this.

“You’re right! If time doesn’t work here, we’ll just remain as we were before we entered, right? I think we can still get tired and cold, though - those things aren’t down to us.” As if to prove his point, he put his arms behind his head and laid down on the sand beside Riku, their legs now touching. “Riku, you keep watch. I’m just gonna take a nap.”

“Slacking off again, Sora? Better make sure you won’t sleep for a year this time!” Riku laughed and poked Sora in the stomach. Some part of him was still astonished that he could tease Sora like this, especially about the year he was asleep. Sora gasped in offense, but then laughed and slapped Riku’s hand away. “Who carried you all the way here? I deserve some rest!” he laughed, and poked Riku right back in his side. To distract himself from the goosebumps he got from Sora’s touch, Riku attacked with a vengeance. “Oh yeah? Let’s see how tired you are!” he said, mercilessly tickling Sora, attacking his sides, his neck, his legs, all the while Sora’s peals of laughter washed over him. “Stop, Riku! I give up!” he got out in between laughs, and Riku quit tickling him - but couldn’t resist a final poke in Sora’s side.

As Sora’s laughs subsided, a pensive look drew over his face. “If we have to spend time in the Realm of Darkness, I’m glad we get to be on a beach. Even if it’s the gloomiest beach I’ve seen in my life,” he said, drawing some lines in the sand around them.

Riku flushed. He didn’t want to hide things he didn’t have to from Sora, and this seemed like a good time to say what had been on his mind since they’d sat down. “I’ve actually been here before.” As Sora’s head snapped around, he stammered: “You know, when we closed the door. This is where I came.” Sora didn’t seem to have anything to say to that, and just nodded as he kept drawing lines in the sand.

 _The last time I came here, I thought I’d never see Sora again_ , Riku thought to himself. It was almost unbelievable, that Sora was here with him at this very moment. The last time he’d been here, he’d thought that Sora would return to Destiny Islands with Kairi, living out the rest of his days in the Realm of Light, where he belonged, while Riku languished here, in the Realm of Darkness, where he belonged. He’d never, not for a moment, thought that Sora would come after him. That he’d choose not to return with Kairi to the islands, but to try and find _Riku_. As if Sora had read his thoughts, he said:

“I hope Kairi and the others are okay. But they’ll manage - Kairi will make sure of that!” Sora bumped Riku with his elbow, grinning. But Riku didn’t laugh.

“Sora… you’re really okay with us being here? It’s lonely, and dark, and cold. You might never get to see Kairi again,” Riku said, a note of urgency entering his voice. But Sora just shrugged.

“Sure, I wish I could have had time to apologise to Kairi - I know she’s tired of us leaving her behind all the time. But, Riku? This beach is only lonely, dark and cold if you’re here alone. And you’re not. I’m with you this time.” Sora’s eyes were fixed on his face, reading it closely, and Riku suddenly felt exposed. He knew he hadn’t been able to mask the expression of pure joy as Sora told him - as Sora told him he didn’t mind being only with Riku. He shook his head, as if to clear his face of any expressions, and said:

“Go to sleep, Sora. I’ll be right here.” And with those words, he turned to watch the sunset - and Sora’s back.

 

\----

 

When Sora woke, it was to a cold beach, a cold light, and a cold feeling in his chest. _Where’s Riku?_ He shot up and looked around. He had fallen asleep with Riku right by his side, he knew that, but now, all he saw was an empty beach and shriveled trees. He put his hands around his mouth and yelled: “RIKU!”

“Sora, be quiet! Are you trying to tell every Heartless in here where we are?” a hissed whisper came back, but Sora didn’t care - his own heart had nearly dropped out of his chest when he thought that Riku was gone, he didn’t care if an army of Heartless dropped from the sky. He looked around wildly, and from behind one of the skeletal-like trees came Riku.

“I was just checking the perimeter - we don’t have a lot of potions left, so we’d better pick our fights, and try to avoid… Sora, what happened?” If Sora were to guess, he’d say that it was the big tears currently flowing down his cheeks that had caused Riku’s abrupt change in tone - from admonishing to soft. He wiped away his tears, reached for Riku and nearly crushed his ribcage with the with the force of his hug. “I just… thought you had left again,” he said in a slightly hoarse voice. He sniffled and buried his face in Riku’s chest. “You ran from me for a year, no way am I letting you do it again!” he said, trying to inflict some kind of humour in his voice, but it was obvious that it didn’t work, as Riku didn’t laugh at his joke. Instead, he softly, so softly, dried Sora’s cheeks with his thumbs and turned his face upwards.

“Sora… Unless you want me to, I’ll never leave your side again.” He sounded almost insecure, as if doubting that this was something Sora wanted. _How can he still doubt that?_ Sora thought to himself. He put his own hands over Riku’s where they were placed on his cheeks, and his heart started to beat faster. It was just _unfair_ that Riku was tall, and handsome, with silver hair and teal eyes, while Sora himself was as he’d always been - dull brown hair, skin and eyes. _I’m just jealous of Riku, that’s all it is_ , Sora tried to convince himself as Riku started slowly caressing his cheeks with his thumbs. Belatedly, he realised that Riku was still waiting for an answer. He smiled.

“I’m gonna hold you to that!” he said excitedly, and hugged Riku again. As he drew back from the hug, he thought he saw a glimpse of relief in Riku’s eyes. _I knew it. He still wasn’t sure._ As he stepped back, he noticed a glimpse of yellow behind Riku’s back. “Riku! Look out!” With astonishing speed, he pushed Riku to the side, and they rolled over in the sand, and the Heartless jumped right at the spot where they had been a few scant seconds ago. As Sora looked closer, he saw that it wasn’t just one, but five Heartless surrounding them. _They must have snuck up on us._ He gave Riku a cocky smile.

“Best out of five? The one who gets the most Heartless gets to take first watch!” he said, his face split into a wide smile. Riku shook his head slightly, but laughed and said: “You’re on, Sora!” They stood back to back, and summoned their keyblades.

 

\--

 

Breathing heavily, Riku finally let his keyblade go. In the end, it had been more than ten Heartless that had swarmed them, but they’d been lucky enough to fight them without getting any major injuries requiring a healing potion or a spell. Sora was slumped on the ground, eyes closed.

“Wow, Riku! I’m lucky you’re here, or I’m not sure I’d have made it!” he said, putting his head between his knees. One part of Riku instinctively wanted to reply with something affirming this fact, something that would make sure that _Riku_ was the superior one when it came to battle - but no. _I’ve made that mistake before, and I’m not doing it again. Sora is much more important than my pride_.

“Come on, Sora! You took out as many Heartless as I did, if not more!” he teased, sitting down on the ground beside Sora and elbowing him in the side. “Aren’t you the great keyblade master?” he laughed. Sora looked up. The cold white light made his brown eyes shine in an eerie way. “I don’t know, sometimes,” Sora said slowly. “Sometimes… Sometimes I feel like I’m nothing special at all, and I’m just lucky. Like all I have to do is to be happy so my friends can carry on doing the important stuff. Lucky enough to have great friends. Like you!” he finished, pasting a smile on his face. It might have worked with any other person, who hadn’t grown up with Sora, but Riku had. He had learned to read Sora’s face before he could read letters, and this stilted smile, with brown eyes that didn’t shine at all, was a fake.

“Sora, you don’t have to smile all the time for your friends to like you. And even if we didn’t, you’d still be… amazing. You know that, right?” he said softly, trying not to betray the myriad of emotions swirling in his chest. Some of the spark came back into Sora’s eyes.

“Aw, thanks Riku! I didn’t know you valued me that much!” Sora said it as a joke, he laughed at it like it was a joke, but Riku was gripped with a cold fear. _Does he think I don’t lo- don’t like him?_ He grabbed Sora’s hand, his urgent wish to make sure that Sora _knew_ overshadowing any of his usual boundaries.

“Sora, you’re everything to me. You’re more than anyone could ever be, everything I want to be. You’re… perfect.” The words came out in a rush, and Riku felt his cheeks heat at this unusual display of rash emotions, but the cold feeling came back as Sora frowned, and his heart sank as Sora unlaced his fingers from Riku’s.

“Riku… I’m not perfect. You know that, right?” he said, slowly, and fixed his eyes on the horizon. Riku flushed, and immediately backtracked:

“Of course I do! I mean, you’re lazy and goofy and impulsive, of course you’re not perfect, anyone could see that!” he rambled, regretting every word that came out of his mouth more and more. _Why can’t one of the Heartless come back and end me right here?_ Riku wondered hopelessly to himself.

During this little speech, Sora had drawn his arms around his knees and placed his chin on them. Once Riku had finished, he seemed to forcibly relax his body as he laid down in the sand and gave him a semblance of a smile. “Gee, Riku, you don’t hold anything back!” he said, his laughter just the slightest bit off.

 _This is all wrong,_ Riku thought, panicking. He’d wanted to reassure Sora, and instead he’d put him down, just like he used to. _No, I’m better now. I can try again._ He moved closer to Sora, placing his left hand beside Sora’s right leg - an invitation.

“Sora… you don’t have to pretend like everything is fine. You can talk to me, if you want. You shouldn’t bottle stuff up,” he said, trying to catch Sora’s gaze, which snapped back to his as Sora let out a laugh. “Riku, are _you_ telling _me_ I shouldn’t try to do everything on my own? _You?_ ”

Riku felt a twinge in his chest at Sora’s attempt to turn the conversation away from himself, knowing that the comment was deserved. But he drew a deep breath and tried again:

“Yeah, I know. Weird, isn’t it? But it’s like you told me - you don’t have to try and carry stuff on your own, alright? Your friends are here for you. _I’m_ here for you.” He tried his best to hide the emotional inflection in the last few words, but he didn’t seem to have succeeded, as Sora sat up, his smile finally dropping, brown eyes turning towards his.

“You’re right, Riku. Or, you know, _I’m_ right.” Sora sent him a quick smile before he continued: “I guess I’m just afraid of letting my friends down.” The emotion that welled in Riku’s chest was only there for a flash and Riku barely had time to feel it before it had left the safety of his body and entered the air.

“Sora, you could _never_ disappoint me.” The words came out vehemently, and he immediately regretted saying something so impulsive, but regretted it even more as he saw how the words affected Sora: he flinched, as if Riku’s words had cut him to the quick, and his fists tightened in the sand. He tore his gaze from Riku’s and rested his eyes on the horizon, unusually quiet, and even if Riku had missed Sora’s physical reaction to his words, this would have aroused his suspicion immediately.

“Sora? Did I say something wrong?” he asked, trying not to let his panic seep into his voice. _The last thing Sora needs right now is for me to say something rash again._ Sora was quiet for a few minutes, minutes that felt agonisingly long for Riku, but he forced himself to take deep breaths and simply wait for Sora to tell him. Finally, in a quiet whisper barely louder than the sound of the dark sea, Sora said:

“I could disappoint you, though. I’m not Kairi - I have darkness in me, too. My friends keep me strong enough to hold the darkness off, but sometimes… I don’t know. If I didn’t have their power…” Sora trailed off.

For most of his life, Riku had seen Sora as a star in the night sky - a pure being of light, one that needed protection from the darkness surrounding it - but Sora was just a human being, like any other. He wasn’t a Princess of Heart - that had been made excruciatingly clear to Riku- _No._ He breathed deeply, in and out, and as a few moments passed, Riku felt a sharp pain in his chest - the thought that he himself had contributed to Sora’s lack of belief in his own abilities was agony - but he also felt a terrible relief. _I’ve made mistakes, but I can fix them. I won’t mess this up again._

“Sora.” Riku’s voice broke the silence, and Sora’s tired face turned towards him. Riku felt sick, knowing what he was about to say, but it was necessary. “If you didn’t have your friends, you’d still be you.” And as Sora opened his mouth (presumably to argue) Riku cut him off in a sharp voice, as if pulling off a plaster: “Do you remember Hollow Bastion?” He could see that Sora hadn’t expected that. His mouth closed, and he looked shocked - if Riku were to guess, he’d say that Sora would never have brought up that event if he knew Riku was listening. He wanted to crawl out of his own skin, run to the other side of the world so Sora couldn’t see him, but his feelings on this subject didn’t matter. _It’s crucial that he knows this._

“In Hollow Bastion, I- well. In Hollow Bastion, you didn’t have your friends. You only had yourself. But you still fought your way through that castle. Even when-”. He faltered. The memory of Sora turning into a Heartless was too painful to bring up, so he tried again.

“You’re always you, Sora. That’s what I meant before. And I- I admire you for that. I’m sorry for what I said before, I was just afraid that I’d said too much, I guess.” And before Riku could stop himself, his treacherous heart forced the next words out of him. “Friends or no friends, light or darkness, you’re always yourself. That’s why I-” he caught himself just in time “-why I think you’re one of the strongest people I know.” He suddenly felt almost naked, as if he had showed his cards too early in the game and now had to bluff. He determinately looked out over the vast dark ocean. He could barely hear Sora’s voice over the sound of the waves.

“Thanks, Riku.”

 

\---

 

Slowly, so slowly, as if afraid to scare Riku with any sudden movements, Sora laid his hand on Riku’s. The flush of colour high on Riku’s cheeks showed that he was aware of Sora holding his hand, but seeing as he didn’t acknowledge it or remove his own hand, Sora assumed that he hadn’t done anything wrong.

“You know, it’s weird,” he started, “I don’t think we’ve ever talked this much about our feelings!” He gave Riku a quick smile, which was returned as Riku took his hand from Sora’s to ruffle his hair affectionately. “I guess you’re rubbing off on me, Sora!”

“Riku, cut it out!” Sora laughed. As Riku placed his hand on the sand again, palm up, Sora said slowly:

“You know, I spent so much time trying to find you. I kept imagining what I’d say to you when I found you, but I didn’t really think I’d be able to say all of this - I didn’t even think we’d have the time! Though I guess if it’s one thing we have here, it’s time.” He tried not to think of exactly how many days, weeks, months (years?) that he and Riku might have to spend in this realm - that was, if they ever left it.

“You’re right about that.” Riku sounded contemplative, as if he too were considering the sheer amount of _time_ that could pass (or rather, not pass) for them in this realm.

“Might as well spend it like this, right?” Sora joked as he slowly placed his own hand in Riku’s, trying to calm his racing heart.

Riku turned to him and smiled, a true smile, one he hadn’t seen in far too long. He interlaced his fingers with Sora’s and said:

“I can think of worse ways to spend an eternity.”

 

\--

 

A scream pierced the night, and it woke Sora up immediately. Heart racing, he looked around and saw Riku, his face contorted and limbs spasming on the sand. He grabbed Riku’s biceps and started shaking him. “Riku! Riku, you have to wake up! You’re gonna draw the Heartless!”

After the first few weeks, Riku and Sora had developed a strategy. They’d decided that they didn’t much feel like just wasting away into darkness and giving up, and the best way not to do that was to keep fighting the Heartless. However, with their healing potions almost gone and mana that couldn’t be wasted, it was of utmost importance that they didn’t get into any fights that they weren’t ready for. They’d realised after the first month that the Heartless didn’t actually sense them if they weren’t actively moving around the Realm of Darkness and drawing attention to themselves, so they had foraged for what little potions they could find in the worlds that had fallen to darkness during one half of the day, and slept the other half. Trying to keep track of day and night was pointless, as was keeping watch, so every night, they slept on the beach, the sound of the sea being something familiar that they desperately needed. This was new, though. _Or has he just not let his guard down before now?_ Sora wondered.

He shook Riku again. “Come on, Riku! You gotta wake up!” Riku moaned with fear again, but this time, Sora could clearly hear what Riku was actually saying.

 _“_ No! Sora! Don’t attack!” Sora felt his heart stop in his chest. _Riku is dreaming that I’m attacking him?_ Clearly, shaking Riku was only agitating him more, his body perceiving the movements as aggressive attacks. Heart heavy, he drew Riku up into a sitting position between his own legs. It was awkward, Riku being quite a lot taller than him, but he somehow managed to prop them up against the barricade of sand they had built some time ago. He pulled at Riku until Riku’s face was buried in his chest, Sora’s hands on his own, his chin placed gently and protectively over his head. Sora moved his left hand and placed it over Riku’s heart, and successfully ignored the way his own heart beat a bit faster. _This isn’t the time or place for my stupid crush on my best friend who is having a nightmare!_ he told himself sternly.

“Riku, I’m here. I’m never leaving you. I would never leave you. Riku, please, wake up,” he begged, but Riku kept twisting and turning, forcing Sora to interlace their legs to keep Riku’s in place.

“Riku, I need you to wake up!” he shouted, uncaring if this brought Heartless to them - he could take them on, as long as he knew that Riku was okay. This finally stirred something in Riku’s half-conscious mind, because he gasped and sat straight up, banging his head on Sora’s chin.

“OW!”

“SORA!”

Rubbing his chin (and subtly checking that all of his teeth were still in place), Sora looked at Riku, who had sat up, still in-between Sora’s legs but no longer resting against his chest. Riku looked haunted. His silver hair shone ghostly in the white light, his face was pale and clammy, and his hands were shaking. He looked at Sora as if… well, Sora didn’t want to put words to it, in case he interpreted too much, but he looked scared, but simultaneously terribly relieved.

“S-Sora,” Riku said, hands quivering. Sora wanted to cry at how unsure and frightened Riku looked, but swallowed and held out his arms instead.

“Riku. Come here?” It wasn’t an order, it was a plea. Slowly, very slowly, Riku sank back and rested against Sora’s chest, and intertwined their fingers. These last few months, Sora and Riku had both realised that unless they dropped some boundaries, they would never last in this realm, and one of those boundaries was physical affection. Where before they had both tried to mask their need for human touch with playing or fighting, they now knew that without the simple comfort of a hug, they would go mad.

Once Riku’s breathing had stabilised and his hands had stopped shaking, Sora felt brave enough to ask the question that had been burning in his mind.

“What did you dream about?” Riku’s breathing sped up, then slowed down again. He cleared his throat, and then in a hoarse voice said:

“I dreamt that you wanted to destroy me. You said- you said I was a creature of darkness, and that I deserved it. And I- I was afraid, even though I understood,” Riku whispered. His chest moved against Sora’s front as he took long, slow breaths.

“Riku - you know that I forgave you a long time ago, right?” he said softly, once again placing his hand on Riku’s heart, and ignored what it might mean that Riku’s heart rate sped up as he did.

Riku laughed, a bitter laugh Sora hadn’t heard in a long time. “Just because you forgave me, doesn’t mean that I did.” Sora leaned his head against the barrier and closed his eyes as he thought of how to respond. For several minutes, all that could be heard was their breathing and the sea crashing against the shore.

“Riku, good people can make mistakes. Good people, when they do, make up for their mistakes. You’ve been protecting me just as much as I’ve been protecting you these last few months, and I promise that if we get out of here you’ll get to apologise as much as you want to anyone you want. You’re a good person.” Feeling that Riku might argue with this, he poked him in the side and said:

“Besides, you think that I’m a pretty good person, right?” Riku turned around and almost looked outraged.

“Of course I do-”

“And AS a good person, I hereby declare you to be a good person too!” he announced, feeling quite proud of himself when Riku burst into laughter, their previous caution forgotten.

“Sora, that’s not how it _works-_ ”

“Who says it doesn’t?”

“I do!”

“Oh yeah?” The grin on Riku’s face looked downright evil, and Sora sprang up from his place behind the sand before Riku’s fingers could reach his sides. He ran down the beach, and suddenly, everything felt just like it was supposed to be. Distracted by this thought, he slowed down, and Riku’s body hit his. Riku’s left hand covered his mouth, and Sora was about to burst out with how unfair it was that no matter how much they’d been fighting and training these last few months, Riku was _still_ taller than him, Riku hissed:

“Quiet! Something’s moving!”

 

\--

 

Sora had, Riku could easily admit, gotten much more attentive to his surroundings since they’d been stranded in the Realm of Darkness. Months of constantly being on the lookout for Heartless would affect anyone. But he could still run with his head in the clouds, which was why he hadn’t seen the spot of blue moving in the dark - but Riku had. He removed his hand from Sora’s mouth, knowing that Sora could be quiet when it mattered, and slowly, they sank back behind the barricade of sand. The blue spot came closer, and Riku quickly hid behind the wall again. A voice, one he felt was distinctly familiar, broke the silence.

“Come out, whoever you are! I’m a Keyblade master and I’m not afraid - fight me!” Riku could feel Sora twitching at the words “Keyblade master”, but gripped Riku’s left hand tightly with his right. He could barely see Sora’s beautiful brown eyes in this light, but he tried to communicate everything he felt with one look, and Sora nodded.

“Come out from behind that barricade!” the voice demanded, and Riku’s blood froze in his veins. “I am _highly_ skilled in magic, and unless you face me right now, I’ll destroy that barricade and everything behind it!”

Sora’s face seemed to tighten as he squeezed Riku’s hand, then let go, and Riku knew what that meant. He opened his mouth, either to whisper to Sora to stay, or to announce his presence and face his fate, but before he could speak, a pair of soft lips had covered his. Sora’s, in fact. Sora’s lips were on his, one of Sora’s hands was still on Riku’s but the other was gently placed on his cheek. For one moment, Riku thought that he had died and gone to heaven, but as Sora stepped out from behind the barricade, most probably facing certain death, as Riku was stunned and unable to speak, he thought he might have died from shock and joy, but that he had arrived in hell.

 

\--

 

Even though Sora’s mind was reeling with what he’d just done, his lips still tingling from Riku’s soft lips on his, he still left the safety and comfort of the barricade and walked out. The thing that Riku had silently warned him about, the person who had shouted, the person who was apparently a _Keyblade master_ , turned out to be someone he just knew he had seen before. Her blue hair shone in the cold light, her arms were draped in a flowing white fabric, and her whole stance told Sora that this might be the most dangerous person he would ever meet. She could be a terrible foe - or a fearsome ally. He held up his hands.

“I’m not a Heartless, my name is Sora, and I’ve been stuck here in the Realm of Darkness for… a while now, I guess. It’s hard to tell here. I promise that I’m a friend.” He smiled encouragingly, but the smile dropped from his face as he saw something yellow gleam in the darkness. “Look out!” he yelled, summoning his Keyblade - but before he could even attempt to defend the blue-haired woman, she had already attacked and vanquished the Heartless. Sora couldn’t help himself.

“That was AMAZING! Where did you learn that?” he asked excitedly. The blue-haired warrior turned around and saw Oblivion, held securely in Sora’s grip.

“Where… did you get that?” she asked, shocked. Suddenly, she focused her sharp blue eyes on his. “Did you say your name was Sora?”

“Yeah! Look, if you promise not to blast us with magic, can my friend Riku come out from behind the sand? It’s been _ages_ since we met anyone who was, well, completely human.” The woman nodded, and relaxed her battle stance.

“I’m Aqua.”

“That’s such a nice name! Riku, you can come out now!”

 

\---

 

Riku swore to himself. He loved Sora, more than his own life, but… did he _have_ to announce Riku’s presence to the enemy? Getting up on his knees, he rose up from behind the barricade, his hands held high.

The Keyblade master, Aqua, was staring at both of them as if she’d seen ghosts, even if she had kept her promise and still wasn’t in her battle stance. _Good_. That meant that if she’d try to hurt Sora, Riku had a second of preparation.

“My name is Riku, and I’ve been trapped here with Sora. We won’t hurt you if you don’t hurt us,” he said slowly.

“Sora? Riku? Is it really you?” Unexpectedly, Aqua’s eyes filled with tears. “What are you _doing_ here? Sora, why do you have a keyblade? What’s happened in the Realm of Light since I’ve been gone?”

Sora, speaking softly as if not to frighten her, took Riku’s hand and said:

“It’s… kind of a long story. How about we tell it to you?”

 

\--

 

Later, much later, once Aqua had been filled in on Sora and Riku’s adventures, and once she had told them of her own, ten years earlier, Riku sought out Sora. Aqua was sitting on the beach a bit further down, and Riku could make out a slight smile on her face.

Sora, on the other hand, was sitting hunched over, tear tracks still visible on his face. Whether they were still there from earlier on, when Aqua had told them of her own, Terra’s and Ventus’ fates, or whether they were new, Riku didn’t know. He sat down in the sand beside Sora.

“Sora. You okay?” His head turned towards Riku’s, and he scooted closer to him and laid his head on Riku’s shoulder. Riku’s heart went into overdrive. _Right. That’s what I_ actually _needed to talk to him about_.

“I guess so. I mean, finding out that the king left Aqua here for ten years… that hurt, you know?” Riku winced. He _did_ know. Finding out that the person who had saved him over and over had done this to such a wonderful person, had forgotten her in this realm of darkness and cold and white, bright light, while she wandered, completely alone with no way out…

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” he replied. Sora suddenly lifted his head, and Riku’s shoulder felt empty without it. He turned, and his brown eyes were fixed on his own teal ones, with an intense look on his face.

“Look, Riku - I know I kissed you earlier. And I’m _really_ sorry if that wasn’t something you wanted. I really am. I just- I didn’t want to die without you knowing how I felt about you.” Riku could feel his heart beating a staccato rhythm in his chest.

“And… how do you feel about me?” he asked, feeling more nervous than he had ever felt in his life. Sora looked at him for what felt like an eternity, searching his face.

“I feel like… like you’re the most important person in the world. Like you’re all that matters to me. Like I want to kiss you. That’s how I feel.” Sora’s voice was strong, and sure, and Riku had never loved him more than in this moment.

“The thing that matters,” he whispered to himself in awe, and wonder, the two feelings that Sora never failed to inspire in him. Sora suddenly looked nervous.

“And - how do you feel, Riku?” he asked, eyes searching again. But Riku was done talking. He drew Sora in his lap and placed one hand on Sora’s cheek and one in his hair, that gorgeous brown hair that he had always loved so much, that he’d only allowed himself to touch in jest. He leaned in just as Sora did, and as their lips met, and for the first time in his life, Riku was absolutely certain: there was no other place he’d rather be.

**Author's Note:**

> BIG shoutout to Maya for sitting with me for an hour and correcting everything!! love u!!


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